A council inspector suffered head and neck injuries in an horrific attack by a man wielding a bat.

The foreshore inspector was set upon while on duty alone in his office at Bell Wharf in Leigh on Thursday at 1pm.

The attack comes five years after the same man suffered a broken nose in a similar attack at the same office.

Today (Friday) his distraught wife said she believed council cutbacks were to blame for her husband being on duty alone in the office.

She claimed he had to raise the alarm by phoning the main pier office because no-one responded on his radio.

Police want to interview two men who were walking a dog in the area earlier that morning who were spoken to by the inspector after the dog fouled the footpath.

The 48-year-old inspector from Shoebury was treated at Southend Hospital but was taken home last night.

His wife said: "I am so angry. I just don't want him to go back there. What happens if next time the attacker has a knife. It could be a murder we are talking about.

"We almost expected this to happen because of his last attack. The inspectors get verbal abuse all the time. He's been threatened before, once with a knife.

"If there had been someone there with him the attacker may have thought twice."

The council's pier and foreshore officer Marjory Hall said: "We will investigate with the appropriate council officers but until we have a clearer picture it is difficult to say what actions the council may need to take. Our main concern is to make sure that staff are safe."

A police spokesman said the inspector had answered a knock at the door and when he opened it he was hit several times with a bat or stick. Inspectors patrol the seafront and enforce bylaws regarding dog fouling, bait diggers and other activities.

The victim's wife said he had accepted regular verbal abuse from people as a part of the job.

But she added: "Physical attacks are just too much. No-one should have to put up with that. They used to be fully staffed but now they don't seem to be. He is just doing his job for the public and this is what happens."

Witnesses to the attack or who saw the two men walking the dog in the morning should call Leigh CID on 01702 471212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Keep out - police seal off the area around the foreshore office to continue their enquiries

Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

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